Blue Jays Winter Meetings Notes: Live Blog Day 2

Dec 9, 2013; Orlando, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays manager

talks with reporters during the MLB Winter Meetings at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. Mandatory Credit:

-USA TODAY Sports

Well, day one of the Winter Meetings had some interesting notes for the Toronto Blue Jays. From the signing and retirement of Roy Halladay to the failed Sergio Santos trade (link here) to the rumors of Toronto’s interest in Logan Morrison, there were definitely some coals in the fire.

Now with day two upon us, what news will hit us today?

5:05pm: We have comments from Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and interest in Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez appears to be hot and heavy. According to Shi Davidi, the Blue Jays talks for a starting pitcher has usually led to teams asking back about the availability of the Jays’ top two prospects.

Ben Nicholson-Smith also says that Anthopoulos may budge on his five-year contract policy.

However according to Davidi a trade seems the more likely route although he says AA has seen some free agent prices drop.

4:40pm: Well, we can cross Brett Anderson off of the Blue Jays wish list. According to Ken Rosenthal, Anderson has been packaged by Oakland in a deal that lands the Athletics Drew Pomeranz and Chris Jensen.

1:15pm: The much talked about three-way trade between the Angels, Diamondbacks, and White Sox seems to be reaching critical mass. Here is the latest per Chris Cotillo of MLB Inside Dish:

That would hurt the Blue Jays a bit, as Howie Kendrick had been discussed in Toronto circles, but the two teams couldn’t come to any sort of deal as they both needed starting pitching. The inclusion of Hector Santiago is something of interest as well, as the Blue Jays could have lined up there with Anthony Gose. Still a fluid situation, but we’ll keep our eyes on it.

UPDATE: Kendrick is not part of the deal, meaning he is still in play.

11:50am: Well, with Rajai Davis in the fold, the Detroit Tigers will turn their attention toward relief pitching, according to the following tweet from Jerry Crasnick.

That’s good news for the Blue Jays, who happen to have an ample amount of relief pitching to swap. Why these two teams couldn’t line up with a Doug Fister trade, I’ll never know, but they could get a second look here. 24-year-old Rick Porcello would be an attractive pick-up here and actually pitched better last season than Fister, despite the higher ERA. His xFIP of 3.19 and his SIERA of 3.39 both indicate a pitcher who should have seen better results, and his 55.3% ground-ball rate would play well in Rogers Centre. Just saying…

10:12am: According to Ben Nicholson-Smith at Sportsnet the Detroit Tigers have agreed to terms with OF Rajai Davis.

8:45am: More pitching is hitting the market, according to Buster Olney, with the Phillies looking to hear offers on both Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels.

Now, both pitchers would be enticing, but to be honest with you, Lee is certainly the more attractive piece to add to the Blue Jays rotation. The cost is still likely to be prohibitive, and that doesn’t include his contract. There isn’t likely a match to be made here for Toronto.

8:45am: Yesterday we closed the day with reports that former Blue Jays outfielder Rajai Davis was close to signing somewhere. Today, we wake up to news that the signing is imminent and the Detroit Tigers appear to be the likely landing spot.

Davis was said to be looking for a starting role, but a role in Detroit likely means platooning in left field with Andy Dirks. Davis has notable struggles against right-handed pitching, but his speed is game-changing, and something that Detroit was lacking last season. This is a good landing spot for Rajai and we wish him the best of luck.